A Place to Rest My Heart (Crimson Romance)

by Galen Rose

  “Damn it, Chase.” Tommy turned and looked at me, “Did he tell you what happened to Mason, her first month on the job? I bet not. It took twenty stitches to close the knife wound on her arm. How about Tim Woo himself, getting shot at. Did he tell you about that?”

  Chase buttered some toast while Tommy ranted. Molly continued to put food on plates and hand them out, then pushed Tommy into a chair.

  “No, Tommy, I didn’t tell her that,” Chase said calmly. “But if I was to tell her that, then I would have to follow it up with Mason not only took twenty stitches in her arm but also had a concussion and yet she still managed to keep the client safe and alive. Now as for Tim Woo, he was shot at by a rival company who figured if Tim was gone then Woo would follow. Not only did Tim survive, but the company has still flourished to help those who need it. We serve a need, Tommy, and I require good people to help provide for that need.”

  I held up a hand to try and get a word in but no one was paying attention to me. “Umm, can I say something here?”

  “No!” Tommy bellowed as Molly laid her hands on Tommy’s large shoulders.

  “Of course, Laney.” Molly said, pushing Tommy back into his seat. “Tommy is just scared and he only knows how to deal with that in a manly fashion and that is by bellowing. Go ahead, dear,” she said, holding Tommy in his seat with only a look.

  “I like my job at the bar but if I had to be honest with myself, and trust me, I am not quite practiced at that, if I had to be honest, it isn’t filling the empty spot in me. I don’t know if what Chase is offering will either, but I have a hunch it might or at least come damn close to it. William died helping people. There have been people who have helped me. I think I owe it to him, and them, to give something back.” I looked at Tommy and reached across the table placing my hands on his clenched fists. “I won’t leave until we find someone to replace me but I would like to take Chase up on the offer.”

  “That is not the point.” Tommy sighed and glared at Chase. Chase didn’t seem particularly perturbed by Tommy’s blustering so I relaxed a bit and decided to eat. I couldn’t see Molly’s hard work going to waste and besides, that deep ache inside me was gone. In its place was something that I had no name for. I hesitate to name it hope, but I felt something stir inside me that had not been there before. Perhaps it was a beginning.

  It only took three days to find someone to replace me at the bar. Interesting that Tommy was having such a hard time finding someone about the time I came on the scene. I hadn’t seen Sean since I decked him. Mike Taylor had called, said he would like to take me out again, and I told him that I was now employed by Woo and that we shouldn’t go out. He laughed at that and said he’d like to take me to lunch on my first day at Woo. Pushy bastard.

  I guess word had gotten around about me decking Sean because the Woo employees who came into Muldoon’s after that Sunday night were prone to asking me how my hand was. When I’d had enough, I posted a sign stating that my hand was just fine. So I lied, a little. It hurt like hell — but I wasn’t going to give Sean the satisfaction of showing that. I even had Dr. Peter look at it. He was the doctor who had seen me when I had passed out in the bar. He wiggled my fingers and wrist around, made a comment about my right hook, and sent me on my way. He also said hoped he wouldn’t see me again for a long time. When I told him I was going to start working for Woo, he gave a long, drawn-out sigh and said he would go ahead and start a file on me. Whatever that meant. Before my first day at Woo, I had managed to get some time on Molly’s computer for online research. The company had been started eight years earlier by Tim and Kim Woo, brothers who had emigrated from China when they were just toddlers. Kim was the electronics genius and until recently had been the leader in developing new alarm and detection technology. A year ago Kim had taken a leave of absence. Rumors abounded about a “brotherly” take over. But, according to a company spokesperson, Kim was in China on leave to take some time off for the first time in eight years.

  Tim ran the physical security side of the company with guard services and training. Recently Mason Storm had taken on the task of improving the company to Fortune 500 recognition. Woo not only offered trained security for special events and the one-on-one personal guard but also trained people for other companies. Much of the research I had come across had been pretty positive. So much the better, I thought. I really was clueless as to how the next few months would change me.

  Probably better that way. Had I known, I might have headed to the bus station.

  On Monday I walked into the reception area of Woo with a small case of the jitters. A tall, blonde-haired man was sitting on the corner of the receptionist’s desk with some flowers in his hand. The woman seated behind the desk was scolding him and trying to shove him off. He sighed with a smile as he stood up, leaving the flowers on her desk but he didn’t go far. He walked right up to me and extended his hand.

  “I’m Dallas.” His voice said New Orleans, chickory, and beignets. “You have to be Laney.” He brought my hand to his lips. “I have to kiss the hand that punched Sean.”

  I pulled my hand free before his lips made contact. “You people must not have enough to do, if my decking Sean seems to be the biggest topic of conversation.” Dallas started to say something but the woman at the desk had come up behind him and grabbed his ear.

  “Go find someone else to bother, Dallas,” as she tugged him toward a door. She opened the door and pushed him through, then turned back to me. “My apologies Miss Murphy. Dallas is harmless. I’m Stacey Taylor. I believe you’ve met my brother Mike? I’m sorry for that, too.” She was a slim blonde with the most vibrant smile I’d ever seen. How on earth was this woman related to Mike? “Chase will be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  She laughed. “My name is Stacey. No, ma’ams necessary.”

  Her phone rang and I took the opportunity to have a glance around the waiting area. It was tastefully decorated but not corporate tasteless. It had warm desert beige and dusky red tones for carpeting and furniture. The art on the wall was real. Not copies put up just to impress, but moody cityscapes that captured San Francisco’s timelessness. I’d bet any money they were local artwork.

  Chase came out with Mike right behind him. “Good morning, Laney. Welcome to Woo,” Mike said, walking right up to me and placing a finger under my chin to look at my fading bruise.

  “You don’t seem too worse for wear since the other night.”

  I batted his finger away and stepped back. “I sure wish everyone would please quit acting like it was such a surprise I survived.”

  “Not surprised,” he said stepping back and heading to the front door. “Just pleased. See you at noon.” He winked at me and walked out.

  “Jesus, does everyone come fully loaded with ego around here?” Chase just chuckled and motioned me to follow him. Once through the door the room opened up into a larger area that was split off into several rows of cubicles.

  “Everyone shares cubicle space with someone else. Usually your counterpart works a different shift. But first let’s go to my office and get the nasty paperwork out of the way.”

  As we walked along the aisles of cubicles I saw quite a few people I had already seen at Muldoon’s. Interesting that so many seemed to fancy the same place — almost like cops with a donut shop. I also passed Sean’s cubicle. He did a double take as we walked by and stood up to watch me. I turned and blew him a kiss. Lord help me. I don’t know why but that inner demon that liked pushing his buttons reared its ugly head. Sean just stared, open mouthed, before realizing he had been talking on the phone and quickly sat back down. I must admit to some small satisfaction that I could cause him a momentary loss of balance. Okay, well, it wasn’t small satisfaction. It felt damn good.

  Chase’s office was at the rear of the rows of cubicles. Now here was a lived-in office. A long leather couch sat against one wall with pillow and blanket set neatly on one end. It did not surprise me to kno
w he slept here. From what I had gathered over the last few days, he was totally dedicated to Woo and had been for about five years. His desk had neat stacks of files on it. Busy, but organized. His window looked out onto the Woo parking area and a basketball court.

  Chase motioned for me to take a seat as he sat in his chair and stretched out his long legs. As it is my nature to study people I had yet to get a handle on Chase. His looks were strong. Dark brown hair cut short. Dark brown eyes — almost black — that didn’t miss a trick. I bet this man had done some hard living in his past. I had no idea how old he was. He gave the impression of youth, but yet his overall presence said strong, tough, and quick. He was not as he seemed and that was a puzzle to me. He cleared his throat and I quickly brought myself back from my study.

  “Sir?”

  “I asked if you wanted a soda or anything?”

  “No thanks. I’m fine.”

  “Well, good. Why don’t you tell me why you decided to play hide and seek from Mike and Sean the other night?”

  “I don’t think it is any of your business, sir.”

  “I beg to differ. They’re both Woo employees and I want to know what happened.”

  I stared at Chase for a moment and then told him everything that had happened from the moment I was stood up to the moment I decked my attacker in the alley with the trash can lid.

  “I see. How long did you study martial arts?”

  “I haven’t studied martial arts. Not formally. A cop that I met in LA taught all of us kids at the shelter basic self-defense.”

  “Why did you run away from home?”

  “I thought I already had the job. I didn’t think I had to interview.” This was not the line of questioning I had in mind.

  Chase smiled and rocked his chair back.

  “Laney, the more I know about you the more I get an idea of what you’re capable of. But for now, I won’t push. I already ran an extensive background check on you. Over and above what Sean started when he thought you were a grifter. What happened to you in the past had bearing on who you are now. What you will do in the future is what I want to see. I hired you because I saw potential. Now, let’s get down to the heart of the reason you are here.” Chase reached into a drawer at his desk and drew out a large file wrapped in plastic and he handed it to me. “Open it up.”

  I unwrapped the file. Inside was an ID badge, a key card, various papers and a beautiful silver watch. “Presents already?” I asked holding it up.

  “No. It is our lifeline to you. Inside that watch is a state-of-the-art tracking device. No matter where you are we can track you, at least within the continental United States. You need to wear this at all times, Laney, especially on the job. It is water resistant and shock resistant. If you’re in trouble you push the bezel on the right side and it will let us know that you need help. It’s also a trade secret. Meaning, you do not go around telling everyone about it. Those who need to know already know. Life being what it is I am sure one day everyone and their brother will want one.”

  “Why do I feel that I’ve somehow stepped into a James Bond film?” I commented, turning the watch over in my hand.

  Chase laughed, “You aren’t far from it. I’ll be honest with you. In this business, you can and most likely will run into someone meaner and nastier than you are. If someone wants to get to whomever you are protecting — or you, for that matter — they will most likely stop at nothing to achieve their goal. This can be a dangerous job. Tommy was right to be concerned but he knows as well as I do that what we do is necessary.”

  Chase stood up. “Scared?”

  “Yes. A little.”

  “Good. Now sign those papers so you can get paid and we’ll go downstairs to meet some very important people.” Chase handed me a pen and I read everything over. When I got to the details of my salary, I stopped and had to catch my breath. “Um, sir. Is this correct?” I asked pointing at the figure.

  “Yes. Why? Not enough?”

  “You have got to be kidding me. I haven’t made this much in all my years working. No, it’s fine. I just assumed that, well, regardless, thank you.” I signed it and handed it all back. I put on the watch and pocketed the badge and card key.

  We left Chase’s office and headed to an elevator. We could go one floor up or down four levels. Jesus, how big is this place, I wondered?

  On the third floor, I was shown the gym and practice rooms. The gym had every piece of weight or workout equipment known to man in it, along with several enclosed practice rooms that had every piece of what one might call ninja equipment; nunchaku, bokken, sai. It gave me pause to think just how much training went on here and what one would be training for.

  In one of the rooms, Mason was going at it with a man twice her size. It was like watching a ballet — only this ballet could beat the living snot out of someone. It was fluid, flawless, and lethal. The man she was up against kept pushing her harder, and although she was covered in sweat she was smiling. Not a happy smile. No, it was more like a “come and get me” smile. Cocky, and all attitude; but her badass attitude was real. Mine was a façade meant to keep me shielded from anyone who would get close. I don’t think mine would have protected me near as well as hers would protect her.

  We left that floor and went down one more level to a series of corridors. At the end of the first corridor was a set of doors with the nuclear waste symbol on the door. I looked a bit confused but Chase just shook his head with a smile and opened the door and motioned me in.

  I had heard the words “Geek Twins” spoken at Muldoon’s but I hadn’t quite made the connection that they were real people. This large room had two huge desks that faced each other, one for each guy. One desk had three computers and another had two computers and some strange looking contraptions that were making buzzing noises. “Quick Dale, hide the games! It’s the Boss Man,” one of them said.

  “Ha, ha.” Chase motioned to me. “Boys, I’d like to introduce Laney Murphy.”

  Both of them stood up. One of them wiped his hands on his shirt. From their pocket protectors to their broken glasses they were the epitome of geek, and absolutely adorable. I smiled and extended my hand. “Hi.”

  Both tried to shake my hand at once. “I’m Dale. This is Oliver.” I studied them for a minute and could not tell them apart. They were tall — over six feet — and all legs. They looked barely out of high school and each with unruly red hair and freckles.

  “Sean was right,” Oliver said. “You are pretty.”

  Sean had said that about me? Now that was a shocker.

  “You available?” Dale asked. I started to say something but Chase stepped in first.

  “Pocket the hormones boys. We need to set up her watch and key card.” I handed both to Dale. He slid the key card into one of the small machines on the desk. It seemed to read the card for a long moment, then imprinted it and spit it back out. I had seen something similar when I had worked on the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. The watch, though, was a different set up. They opened the back and attached a small wire to a tiny chip inside. Then Dale sat down and attached the other end of the small wire to a cable to his laptop and entered in a password, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he typed. In two minutes he detached the wires and handed the watch back to me. On his laptop screen he brought up a city grid that had many blinking red lights. “If I enter in your ID number, then your red light shows up here,” he said pointing to his screen. “Push the bezel.” I did and the screen changed from grid to a flashing screen that listed the exact coordinates of where I was. Chase’s pager went off as well as the twins’ pagers. “The computer also pages two other people. There is backup for the backup. Since you will be in training for a few weeks your partner will also be alerted if you are in trouble.”

  “Who’s my partner?” I asked looking at Chase.

  “I am,” he said with a sly smile.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes but said nothing. Great. Just great. Well, I suppose it could have been worse. I coul
d have gotten Sean or Mike.

  “Now let’s get you a cubicle. Thank you, gentleman.” Chase said and opened the door.

  “Nice meeting you, Laney,” both boys said in unison. I nodded and followed Chase out. “Excuse me, sir?”

  “Laney, I may be older than you but every time you call me ‘sir’ I keep wanting to look for my father. Chase. One name. It’s easy.”

  “Yes, sir.” I said with a straight face. “Why are you my trainer? I mean partner?”

  “Well for two reasons. One, is that I promised Tommy that I would see to you personally. It was truly the only way to get him to get over his reluctance and to let you do this. Now hang on,” Chase said at my noise of protest. “Tommy takes his role of,” Chase stopped for a moment and seemed to be readjusting what he had intended to say.

  “What? You were going to say something.”

  “I was just going to say that Tommy feels protective of you. It’s his nature and he would feel it’s duty to try and stop you from getting into trouble. But you and I both know he couldn’t stop you from doing what you wanted to do. He just needed the reassurance.” We had gotten in the elevator and were heading to the top floor. I knew Chase didn’t say what he had intended to say. This was not the first time I had felt that people were holding back around me. That something wasn’t being said. But before I could ask, though, Chase continued on with his reasons for being my temporary keeper.

  “Reason two is that two of my best trainers seem to have taken a liking to you and although there are no rules against fraternization in the company, and I am sure they both would behave professionally, I felt it best to let the air clear between the three of you first. And finally, I need the exercise.” I looked at the additional buttons on the elevator wall, “What’s down at the bottom, sir?”

  “Communications. You are not cleared to go down there. It requires an authorized key card. We deal with some sensitive products here as well as view sensitive areas not open for viewing to the, excuse the term, common public. It is Dallas’s domain. Have you met him yet?”